


Prelude

by StoryCommission



Series: L'envie's Tales [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV, Original Work
Genre: Ether, Gen, Kyōju-no-Sato, Magic, Manga & Anime, Underwater, village
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-21
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:22:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,941
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24301294
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StoryCommission/pseuds/StoryCommission
Summary: Backstory. L’envie’s life back when she was young and innocent, and was called Désirée.
Relationships: Arde/Ether, Father & Daughter - Relationship, Original Male Character - Relationship
Series: L'envie's Tales [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754401
Kudos: 1
Collections: The life of L'envie D'aimer





	Prelude

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fhurai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fhurai/gifts).



> A/N: Thank you again to [fhurai](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fhurai) for entrusting me, #WritingCommissionStudio, for writing yet another one of her OC's story. Here's to more wonderful tales in the future~! 🍺
> 
> To get a custom story of your own, visit: http://goo.gl/8is63z for further details.

#  **_Prelude Tale~_ **

_ Summary: L’envie’s life back when she was young and innocent, and was called Désirée. _

* * *

Kyōju-no-Sato village is a tranquil underwater community made out of small clusters of homes built inside protective tractor-beamed bubbles. Food is bountiful as most of the villagers are made of fish hunters, so Kyōju-no-Sato barely needs any help from those outside the village. As a result, rarely any travelers come by, and Kyōju-no-Sato naturally becomes reclusive to outsiders.

The number of villagers inside Kyōju-no-Sato is so limited that everyone practically knows everyone, thus navigation between clusters of houses is made to be practical, albeit slightly a little bit sparse, preaching on top of giant reefs and steep cliffs in between nearby available terrains. 

It’s a peaceful community. Everyone has to get along with everyone because they can only rely on each other as a way of life. Everyone has their own work and responsibilities, even the young ones. That’s how they’re able to function as a proper small community.

Désirée is also one such as child. Having lost her father a few years prior, it is her duty to take up responsibilities and help on chores around the house. While she is not old enough to be considered an adult in the village’s eye, she is also no longer that young anymore to not know how to function as a proper member of the community. Désirée is lithe and lively, often seen moving around the village to pick up groceries or moving stuff.

Now, her mother is currently away, off on a duty back in her home village, thus forcing Désirée to live independently in their house since a few months ago. This doesn’t upset her at all though, because she is aware that her mother is away to take care of some important business. Her mother is still the princess of the Azure kingdom, after all. 

Désirée just misses her sometimes, especially when her mother is not there when she wants to talk about something — telling her about her days, chatting while eating together at the dinner table, or simply just wanting to get tucked a goodnight’s kiss.

Despite their small numbers, the village is always one that’s constantly boasting with activities, from early morning to noon. At night, they each return to their homes to eat with their families, but sometimes, they all gather in the common hall for a monthly dinner feast — to commemorate kinship. That’s how everyone catches up and exchange stories, even when most of the topic conversations are just repeated old stuff.

It’s a slow mundane life, but everyone loves it.

It’s another fine morning day and Désirée wakes up to bath and get dressed, ready to start the day.

She heads off to the local market just as gentle bioluminescent light starts glowing throughout the village, as people get up and get ready for work.

The market is located at the heart of the village, just by the second cluster next door. Désirée travels through a tunnel that connects her home to the next bubbled cluster, where most of the villagers are heading.

“Are you okay, dear?” an elderly lady asks on her way there. She is one of the few village elders who lives in smaller homes near her house. She has always been a kind and gentle grandmotherly figure for Désirée.

“Yes, I’m okay, granny. Thank you for your concern,” Désirée forces a smile, as she offers a hand to help Granny walk to the market.

“Thank you, but I don’t want to trouble you further. You should head where you want to go. I’ll be alright from here,” Granny steps aside, still strong and stubbornly independent in her resolve.

“Alright, please take care.” Désirée part ways with Granny and head into the bustling market, stall keepers shouting out the freshest raw ingredients they have to offer here and there throughout the whole way. The young and spirited Désirée cheerfully picks on her grocery list and contemplates on what she should cook today.

“Tuna, mackerel, salmon. Come pick your newest catch of the day right over here~!”

“Seaweed! Come try our seaweed noodles here!”

“Fish roe, fish roe! Delicious, nutritious, colorful fish roe~!”

It sounds like the perfect day to make some tasty bento! Désirée heads to each stall to try and get a good price for the ingredients. Although her mother has left Désirée with a good enough amount of money to survive by herself, she still wants to be careful and make sure to use it sparingly. That’s what responsible adults do, after all.

The market is alive and loud. Adults are either shopping or selling stuff, while some of the younger children are happily running around in a game of chase, probably bored out of their minds waiting for their parents to finish shopping.

Back in the days, she and her father also like to go to the market together, to pick up groceries while mom directs their retainers for the day’s menu back home. Sometimes they would even make a game out of it, trying to see who can cross out the items on their lists first, or who can get the best prices and freshest ingredients the most, laughing maniacally through the whole race like they are having the most fun in the whole wide world!  _ Oh _ , those were the days. How she misses them!

But Désirée shakes those thoughts away before she can begin tearing up, no wanting to embarrass herself in front of everyone. She has to be strong!

She only realizes just now that she has been staring reminiscently at the stalls for five straight minutes, so she moves ahead, only to meet the stares of the same running children, who are now staring at her frightfully from one corner of the market.

She tries to smile and appear nonthreatening, but that only scares them more and make them run the other way around in fear. Désirée sighs in a letdown, before finally heading to check off her next list of items by the meat stall.

While the options of red meat are rather limited, that doesn’t mean they are nonexistent. The culinary in Kyōju-no-Sato is very open to what’s available on local life, which includes trying various meats like a seacow’s, which rumored to rarely been consumed outside of their village on land. This type of meat is particularly a Kyōju-no-Sato’s specialty.

“Morning, Betsy-san. The usual, please.”

“Oh hey, Désirée. Come, let me chop up a good part for you. You’d want to try the ribs too. Oh, and how are ya doing today? I know it must be tough living on your own. Here, why don’t you take some extra meat for yourself? Eat and grow up well!”

“Oh, Betsy-san, I can’t possibly—” Désirée tries to deny her offer, but the lady butcher is having none of it.

“Nonsense! You’re in the age where you need a lot of nutrients to grow up fast, after all. Look at you, still all bones and scrawny. Take them so you can grow strong like me!” She quickly wraps a block of lean meat and pushes it into Désirée’s hand, who in the end is forced to receive the gift with gratitude.

Désirée marches forward feeling slightly a bit feather-light after that. Trust Betsy to always bring the mood up! Just when she’s about to turn a corner to a herb stall, she feels something bumps against her stomach, her heart jolts as she almost drops her groceries. Désirée looks down to see a kid. He must have bumped onto her while playing around. See, his friends are chasing him—

“U-uwaaahhh!” The little boy shouts out and immediately backs away the moment he realizes just who he just bumped into. His friends are right behind him, tugging him by the arm to quickly run away, not minding that everyone is now staring at the commotion they’re making.

All of a sudden the adults begin to whisper. Some look concerned, while some are— Désirée doesn’t want to go there.

Changing her mind, she’s almost on the verge of taking off herself, when an elderly man approaches her. “Are you alright? What troublesome kids this village has.” He, of course, is pointing out to the fact that they had run off without apologizing to the one they had bumped into.

“Grandpa Pop!” Désirée greets him, patting her bruise. “Nah, it’s okay. They’re just—” She can’t bring herself to say the words.

“Scared?” he fills in. “You know, back in my days, there is this thing called the rights of vengeance. You take what was equally taken from you. But no one believes in that anymore. Pampered, the whole lot of them now, I tell you. Tsk, tsk!” He clicks his tongue in emphasized disapproval.

While Désirée won’t say that she’ll go all out evening out a score like that, she can’t entirely say that she hates having someone who’s also on her side. While the adults are somewhat more understanding of what she’s going through, the kids are… not so much. It’s more difficult to change their minds once they’ve been told one thing by their parents.

The elders and those who don’t have young ones prove to be more sympathetic towards her. It’s not easy, losing one’s parent so young, then have the other one away for an undetermined amount of time as well. Plus, she is growing up, her body is changing. Stress can only clash with her hormones.

“I’m okay, really.” She tries to brush it off, offering a smile. Grandpa Pop simply eyes her sharply with a critical eye, before sighing.

“You don’t have to pretend with me, you know. If you keep shoving down your feelings like that, it’ll just be bound to time that it’ll bursts out of ya. I’m around if you wanna talk. We’re all here for you.” He gives a gentle pat on her hand.

His kindness only brings tears to her eyes easier, so Désirée simply nods, trying to regulate her breathing. “I will. Thank you, Grandpa Pop.” She smiles, more real this time. Even after all these years, some wounds just still hurt.

Just when she’s finally feeling slightly better, he asks her the dreaded question. “So, have you heard any words from your mother recently?”

* * *

Désirée heads back home to stare back at the unopened envelope from her mother. The lettered had arrived yesterday, but she still can’t bring herself to open it just yet, afraid of what it’ll say. She tries to live independently on her own, but some days she just simply misses her mom. Her stomach twists coldly at the thought of reading the letter, if it’s just gonna deliver her some bad news. How much longer is her mom going to delay her return?

In some levels, she’s afraid that her mom is avoiding her because of what happened. Perhaps this place will bring too much bad and happy memories. Or perhaps it’s because Désirée is here. Even though she is her child, perhaps a mom can be scared of her as well—?

She tries to avoid guessing by distracting herself with simple chores, cooking and cleaning, only to end up eating on their big dinner table all by herself again. She tries to chuck the feelings down, but it eventually bubbles up until she loses her appetite completely.

It’s not just the ebbing loneliness that’s eating her away, but the fact that she had murdered someone. Several someones, in fact. Some of the villagers might think that it is all well within her right to avenged her father’s death — after all, he was killed right in front of her. And she just so angry that her body had done something before she could even stop herself. But this is eating her conscience away.

Désirée moves to her bedroom to collapse on her bed and allow the memories of that night plays out.

* * *

_ It is a celebration, one of their monthly night feast, held to welcome some of her father’s adventurer friends. The villagers were rather alarmed when two adventurers, a hyur and a roegadyn, suddenly showed up at the perimeter of their territory and started barging their way in. Everyone was ready to fight, until Dethanon showed up to the commotion and realized just who has shown up and entered their cluster. These men were not bandits — they are his former adventurer partners, Farir and Silent Pillar! _

_ At first, people were still very skeptical about their arrival. It was unannounced, and they had practically forced their way in through the protective bubbles after all. Of course the villagers have some reservations about them. But Dethanon quickly explains and smooths out the misunderstanding. Crassness and obstination are Farir and Silent Pillar’s strongest suits after all, and it doesn’t seem like years and age has lessened or dulled out any of their rough ways at the slightest. _

_ The villagers weren’t pleased with this event. They thought they were under attack. Still, Dethanon persists that everything is fine, until they eventually relented, as Dethanon promises to throw a feast as an apology for the intrusion. All expenses would be on him, of course, and that eased the tension somewhat significantly, though a couple villagers are still eyeing these strangers somewhat worriedly here and there. _

_ Meanwhile, young Désirée’s eyes are gleaming curiously from the one side of her father’s leg, staring keenly at the new faces of these tall strangers that she has never seen before. Their little village is so averse to strangers that she doesn’t think she has ever seen an outsider before, let alone go outside for a change. To meet people like these, especially those of different species, is so very interesting to her! _

_ So here she is, perching on a chair beside her father, eyes shining and proud, as she watches her father chat animatedly with his friends at the dining hall, while the rest of the villagers are running about, busy making preparations for the big feast. _

_ So these are the men her father has often been talking about from his younger days. They’ve practically roamed the entire continent! It surely is different to hear about the rest of the world from the perspective of new people. _

_ “Ah, so this must be the little squirt that we’ve heard so much about,” Farir’s attention finally shifts to her after a while. “And where is that rumored beautiful wife of yours?” _

_ “Yup! My precious little princess. She is the light of my life. You’d understand the feeling too once you settle down and find someone you love,” Dethanon beams proudly. “Sorry my wife can’t attend, though. She’s held back with paperwork in the palace.” _

_ “Yuck, I’d rather not,” Silent Pillar quickly reacts. “I’d rather die. Imagine! Can you really picture me settle down on a mundane life and not pick up a sword? Honestly, I have no idea how you can do what you do. Talk about some dedication!” _

_ “It’s true, I married her mother out of my duty to the village at first. But life with Raen is great, and it has been even better since Désirée arrived. Trust me, every day is a new day with her around.” Dethanon shuffles her hair playfully in emphasis. _

_ Dethanon merrily includes his daughter in the conversation, introducing each of them to her. But Désirée is already partly familiar with them, having heard a bunch of adventuring tales straight from her father. _

_ Farir is a Hyur. Fit and tall for a human, and carries a big bow on his back. He is an archer, the master of long-range attacks for the group. _

_ Silent Pillar is a burly Roegadyn. Just like the rest of his race, he has a pale greenish skin, long grey hair, and eerie yellow eyes. He wields the big axe he carries on his back. The blade of the axe looks so particularly sharp that a strand of hair will instantly be cut in half if she runs one through it. _

_ Farir and Silent Pillar fall into unreadable silence while assessing her appearance, exchange some greeting, before one of them speaks again. _

_ “Yeah yeah, sure. Whatever you say, man. Anyway, there’s a specific reason why we came here.” _

_ “Ouch, I’m hurt. I thought you guys are here because you missed me.” _

_ “Haha, yeah, that. But also because we need our old teammate back.” Dethanon looks surprised when Silent Pillar says that. _

_ “You do?” Her father still sounds doubtful, but they keep going on. _

_ “Of course, buddy. You are by far our best fighter yet. Between me and Silent Pillar, we are missing out best swordsman yet. And here, listen, before you deny us again, you have to hear us out. The adventurer guild is launching a massive subjugation mission at the north mountains of Azim Steppes. Apparently someone had accidentally discovered some powerful energy crystals over there that can revolutionize the invention world. That’s equal to untold richness! I know that you married a princess and all, so you don’t really need the money, but think about it. Untold prestige, exciting adventurer days await you! We’ll never get a bigger chance than this.” _

_ Dethanon’s jaws tense, lips pressed in a hard line. _

_ “I’m sure you’ve read my replies before, so the answer is still no. I have a daughter now, I can’t just up and leave like I used to.“ _

_ “It’s not like you’re leaving her alone in this place or such. Your wife can take care of her,” Silent Pillar insists. _

_ “Her mother is a princess. She’s busy and she can’t look after Désirée all day.” _

_ “So? She’s not a child anymore. She’s practically a grown-up already. She can take care of herself, right?” Désirée feels nervous when Silent Pillar’s attention is suddenly directed at her, and so instinctively hides herself behind her father. _

_ Dethanon shakes his head disapprovingly. “Enough. I do not wish to continue this talk any further. Let’s focus on the feast instead.” _

_ They relent for now. But of course, they’re not planning to just gonna leave empty-handed without trying. _

_ And Désirée is left feeling unsecured. Suddenly, she’s not so enthusiastic about these foreigners or the food anymore. _

_ Like the attentive father that he is, Dethanon notices his daughter’s sudden change of mood pretty soon enough. _

_ “What’s wrong?” he asks. _

_ Little Désirée keeps quiet for a moment, but when her father continues to train his eyes on him like that, she eventually relents. _

_ “Are you really not gonna go?” _

_ “Are you saying I should?” he fakes hurt. _

_ “Of course not! I don’t want that. You’re mine. You can’t leave!” Désirée exclaims enthusiastically, albeit with some self-doubt. _

_ “Yes, yes, of course I am. So there’s nothing you should worry about.” Dethanon pinches her cheek on one side teasingly until she starts cracking a smile. _

_ Yet Désirée can’t seem to brush off this bad feeling inside of her. Ever since Farir and Silent Pillar talked about the mission… it’s like they don’t want to give up. Like they might do something drastic if her father doesn’t agree. The little girl can’t help but be worry for him. _

_ The entire time, Farir and Silent Pillar are staring at them intensely from the other side of the table. _

_ It’s in the middle of the fast and everyone is enjoying the food at full spree. Her father and his friends toss for a drink, and instantly the mood returns to a celebratory air, as the three of them reminiscence the youth of their adventuring days. All seems well, until Farir redirect their conversation back to recruiting Dethanon again. _

_ “Farir, I told you before, I can’t. I’m sure the guild still has some formidable fighters than still hasn’t joined a team yet. Why don’t you invite them instead? Besides, it has been a while since I picked up a sword and really give my all like that. At the skill I’m going, I’ll only drag you two down.” Her father slurs drunkenly. _

_ “No one defeats monsters like you do, Dethanon. You’re our best option, so you’re stuck with us. Besides, don’t you miss being out there and fighting monsters all day? You used to be the most formidable of us all. What happened to you, man?” _

_ For a flicker of a moment, Dethanon gazes at them like he pities them. Then answers, “I can’t. Azim Steppes is too far. It would be months before we’re done, perhaps even a year. I can’t leave Désirée alone for that long. Perhaps if it’s something a few hours away. But otherwise,” he shakes his head, “I’m sorry.” _

_ “But Dethanon, you gotta hear us out. There are giant snow apes there!” Silent Pillar, equally are drunk, adds on. “We can harvest a lot of materials and harness a sum of profit. And between the three of us, that’s a clear extra coin right there! I’ll do the tanking, Farir does the lookout, and you’ll do the damage, just like old times.” _

_ Dethanon chuckles. “Wouldn’t that be nice. Alas, I’m still needed at home. Perhaps once she’s older, I might consider going back adventuring. That is, if my bones haven’t gone brittle with age just yet!” _

_ Farir and Silent Pillar continue to drop buttle hints that they her father to go with them, yet Dethanon keeps adamantly rejecting their request, to the point that any other men with better pride would have stormed off pissed by now. But Farir and Silent Pillar understand the importance of successfully recruiting Dethanon into their fold. _

_ This can’t go on any longer though. They are preparations needed to be made, and they are wasting time cohorting with Dethanon just drinking and eating in this no-named village. They already wasted enough effort travelling this far off the continent. Eventually, the duo will need to draw the line somewhere. _

_ “Now, now Dethanon, if you keep rejecting us like this, we’re gonna have to start taking offence on you,” Farir starts, letting the undertone of his annoyance be heard. _

_ Dethanon sobers up instantly. “You knew my answer before I came here. So please stop trying to persuade me or I’ll start to get offended. My family means a lot to me, there’s very little reason you can use to make me leave.” _

_ “Oh, stop it with the talks!” Silent Pillar finally snaps, slamming a fist to the table, drawing everyone’s attention in the room. “We all know you’re just smug now that you’ve settled into a comfortable life with a rich wife. But what about us, huh? Your old teammates! Don’t you have any sense of loyalty left? Ever since you left, our reputation hasn’t always been like how it used to. What happens to helping old friends?” _

_ “Don’t misunderstand,” her father counters sternly. “I still carry a deep sense of loyalty with me. It just had been shifted to my family now.” _

_ “I thought you just left to fulfil your duty to your people. But then you changed your mind and never came back! We have to settle with what we could, but it hasn’t been the same since.” Silent Pillar persists. “This is your chance to make it up to us. So just take it and let’s leave already!” _

_ “I’m sorry that things haven’t been doing well for you two. But asking me to take responsibilities for that is just too unreasonable,” Dethanon says sincerely instead. _

_ “That’s not good enough!” _

_ Dethanon needs to take a step back at the lash out. He then glances at Farir, but he is schooling the same twisted hardened features. Have they always been this absurd? Is this what years of friendship has come to? _

_ Dethanon rises from his seat in an instant. “I am no longer in a celebratory mood. The two of you are welcomed to stay, but I am leaving. Let’s go, Désirée.” The girl feels her father tugs at her arm guidingly. But the duo are not letting him leave easily. _

_ “Where are you going, Dethanon? Back to that cunt of a wife of yours?” The villagers let out a sharp gasp. “Or go play with that little runt? Careful, or we might just decide they’re more trouble than they’re worth.” _

_ “Enough! I will not let you threaten my family like that. Your grudge is with me, not them!” _

_ “What are you going to do about it? It’s not like you have your sword with you. When has the last time you even touched a weapon?” Farir sneers. _

_ “I might have left my adventuring days behind, but I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeves.” _

_ “Are you sure about that? Might as well leave before we decide to take matters in our own hands.” _

_ Dethanon is so enraged that he immediately banishes them. “Leave! And never come back!” His words are sharp, like a hard slap, the entire room can feel the rage within him instantly. _

_ Farir and Silent Pillar look slighted. When they try to grab their weapons, the entire village quickly moves synchronously, quickly outnumbering them. _

_ “Leave, foreigners! Before we stop being nice about it.” They have tried to be nice because they are their Dethanon’s guests. But the moment these two started spouting out threads to the princess and their dear Désirée, they might as well be shark baits. _

_ Greatly outnumbered from two to forty, Farir and Silent Pillar are forced to retrieve. _

_ But not before one last parting gift. _

_ Out of spite, Farir grabs his bow and swiftly shoots an arrow at the kid. The princess might also be an easy target, but Dethanon seems to have a big attachment to this one. _

_ The rest of the room have their backs turned on them, thinking that the two are finally leaving without a fight, but are quickly caught off guard at the arrow shot. _

_ But Dethanon’s reactional instinct is faster, throwing himself at the line of shot to protect his dear daughter without a second thought. _

_ It all happens so fast. One moment she’s smiling up at her father, and the next, he throws himself in front of her. Something sharp protrudes from her father’s chest, its suddenly appearance so out of place. Then blood quickly flows out of the gaping wound right after. _

_ Little Désirée is so distraught that her mind blanks out, her senses dulled out, except for the running blood in her hands. The little hands that work so desperately to cover his chest, hoping to make it stop bleeding. _

_ But it refuses to bend to her will. Her father coughs, in his injury still trying to make sure that she’s alright, looking rather alarmed when he sees the blood in her hands. Thank kami-sama it’s not hers, just his. _

_ “No, no, father! Please be okay! Please don’t die! Don’t leave me!” _

_ “I’m sorry it has come to this… my d-daughter. Because of me—” _

‘It’s not your fault,’ _ is what Désirée wants to say, but his consciousness is starting to roll back to his skull. _

_ Far away, Farir lets out a curse. His mark had hit true. Despite his original intentions, the arrowhead had pierced Dethanon’s heart instead. _

_ “What the fuck, man? Now how are we suppose to do the mission like this?” _

_ “I’m not gone yet.” _

_ His former teammates are surprised to see Dethanon standing back up, pushing his daughter behind his back and out of their view. Perhaps the arrow has missed his heart indeed? _

_ Before Farir and Silent Pillar can start moving, the villagers attack them back in an outrage, their swarming numbers quickly overwhelming the two adventurers. But despite the sudden charge, Farir and Silent Pillar can still hold up a defense against these villagers, who are poorly equipped with proper weapons, while the two adventurers are still in their thick armors. _

_ Farir and Silent Pillar are still professional adventurers after all. Killing monsters ont he regular is their way to make a living. Offing humanoids are simply a step down. Besides, these villagers do not have what it takes to fight for their lives on the get go. When Silent Pillar manages to push back and gain some distance, Farir moves quickly to shoot 3 arrows at the same time, and a rain of arrows injure some of the villagers in the process. _

_ While Dethanon puts up a brave front to protect his daughter, the truth is that the arrow has embedded itself pretty deep enough that he worries he might have been fatally wounded. But as long he doesn’t move too much, he should be able to hold on for a moment longer. Which is easier said than done. If only his vision can just stop blurring.  _ ‘Ah, shit. This isn’t supposed to be how it should happen today. I can’t die here.’  _ Dethanon glances down at his daughter, taking in her tears-streaked face.  _ ‘I can’t die here. I should be walking her down the aisle first.’

_ Désirée can feel her father slipping away. She knows that he’s trying to appear strong, but how can he when there’s a hold in his chest? She does her best to support his declining body, but even her hold on him is waning down fast, as he eventually slumps down to the floor and brings her along. Meanwhile, her father’s attackers are fervently taking their neighbors one by one, causing several to be injured in defense. _

_ “Father, please don’t go…!” the child begs pathetically, knowing that it is inevitable. _

_ Farir and Silent Pillar think they’re still walking out of this place with their supposed ‘champion’ along. They do a great job pushing the other villagers back. Farir manages to break through their line of defense and march to where Dethanon lies while Silent Pillar holds their assailants back.  _ ‘This bastard… still pretending to sleep, I see,’  _ he concludes upon seeing his former friend’s lying form. _

_ “Hey Dethanon, we’re fucking leaving now if you don’t want no trouble!” Farir exclaims proudly. _

_ Dethanon, already losing consciousness, is brought back to live due to the loudness. _

_ “Back off, Farir.” Ugh, some friend he is! Dethanon clutches at his punctured chest, blood dripping from one corner of his mouth. He doesn’t know how much longer he can hold on, he’s barely conscious as it is at this point. _

_ Yet there doesn’t seem to be any end to Farir’s greed. _

_ Farir thinks Dethanon is just pretending. After all, they’ve faced worse things in the field. But why does he keep insisting on crouching on ground level? “Come on, get up, Dethanon! We’re leaving, or the brat gets it.” He doesn’t want to resort to this type of tricks, but Dethanon is proving to be more stubborn that he needs to be. _

_ “Don’t touch… my daughter!” Dethanon barely has the energy to keep upright. The arrow still lodged on his chest is proving to be very painful. He only stretches out his muscles one last time to shield Désirée from the hyur. _

_ …Before an axe suddenly hits him from the back, causing Dethanon’s eyes to go white from shock in an instant.  _

_ “Silent Pillar! What the fuck did you do that for? We almost had him!” to say that Farir is beyond pissed is an understatement. _

_ “No, screw that guy! If he wants to stay with this family, then they can all go down with him!” _

_ Farir checks on Dethanon’s state. “Ah shit, he’s fucking dead!” _

_ “No shit!” _

_ Désirée ignores the cursing men above her. All she hears is ‘he’s dead’, and she suddenly feels very cold inside. Her daddy is… gone? No more daddy? Her chest feels tight and her stomach hollow, her breathing becomes irregular and her heart burning hot. These men killed her dad… _

_ She slowly swifts her gaze from her dad’s cold body… to the arguing adults above her. There is something cold about the way her once innocent heterochromia eyes are staring at them right now. Her frenzied cold brain suddenly feels very calm. The next thing that happens feel completely out of her body’s experience. _

_ All around her the villagers begin screaming anew again, but for some reasons they are looking at her direction in horror. Someone eerily warm and wet splash at her front, but she gives it no tough, as her body quickly move once again. _

_ Her brain doesn’t acknowledge the purpose of the movement, but she feels her limbs swing and the second fountain of blood sprays all over, as she beheads them one by one without mercy, catching of guard of the other while his friend’s head departs from his neck, heart still pumping fast and squirting crimson fluids everywhere. _

_ ———————— _

_ When she wakes up the next morning, her dad is still dead. But so are those adventurers. Apparently someone has killed them in retaliation, and that someone is her. _

_ The little girl doesn’t remember any of that happening though. The elders refer to the phenomena as an ether berserker. It’s already almost unheard of for a female au ra to possess such power, let alone to go on a berserker mode like that. She is labeled as unique, one of a kind. But some might call her a murderer. _

_ Her mother makes a rare appearance. Though judging by the dark circles under her eyes, this event has also greatly distressed her. Désirée reaches out, and her mother tightens the interlacing of their fingers. _

_ They’re in this together now. _

* * *

“Poor thing,” Désirée still catches what people whispers behind her back. But what do they know? It’s not like there had been any casualty besides her father. Those who were injured got back up.

The ether makes her a wild card. Though it has not activated ever since the incident, they still take some level of safety trainings as a failsafe, in case she goes beserk again.

The point is, life has never been the same since then. But where is her mother when Désirée needs her the most? She thought they are supposed to be in this together? But now she ends up living alone in this big empty house.

Désirée blinks from her blurry vision. Wet patches of moisture form on her skin, before she realizes that they are not residual droplets of water from her soaked hair.

She’s crying.

And then, once she starts, Désirée can’t seem to stop.

She’s sad. She’s just so fucking sad. She’s sad and she’s lonely and she just feels like she’s all alone in this big, empty world.

Her dad’s gone and her mom’s gone. At least she still has her mom but she’s not here right now. How can she go on?

How could her father just up and leave her alone like this? More tears spill out as sadness quickly morphs so different feelings. She is so angry and frustrated right now. Amongst anyone else in her life, Désirée is closest to her dad. Her mum is okay, but it’s not the same. How can she go on like this? She has no friends. Who is she going to talk to?

It feels weird to talk about these kinds of feelings to the adults and elderly at the village. Sure, they know each other, but she doesn’t think they can actually understand what she is going through right now. After all, they are not the one who is missing a loved one.

All her feelings are just still so fresh even after all these years. Can they even understand her? It feels weird to even think about spiling her innermost thoughts to someone less familiar than her father. Dad is her number one best confident when it comes down to embarrassing or deeply-embedded stuff like this. Where is he when she needs him the most? Gone.

The girl cries herself to sleep.

**Author's Note:**

> To get a custom story of your own, visit: http://goo.gl/8is63z for further details.


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